Staying Cheerful
by beanstalk1019
Summary: Oneshot. Eiji and Momo have more in common than you might think. Minor spoiler right before the Kantou tournament. Friendship only for now. Now critically acclaimed by 7 reviewers!


_A/N:_ _Hey! A year ago, sometime around today, I discovered fanfiction for the first time and shortly after that, fanfiction(.)net. My first posted PoT fic is here to mark that occasion. This is dedicated to my Mom, who was my biggest supporter ever and a Language Arts teacher to boot. And, as always, to Kat._

Disclaimer: If I owned Prince of Tennis, the animated movie would not have been nearly as corny as it is. Can't help but love it though! Thank you for giving it to us, Konomi-san.

**Staying Cheerful**

When Eiji got to the clubroom that day, he didn't really expect anything to be different. Sure, Momo was no longer technically a regular (which was bull in his mind because the power player would always be a regular to Eiji), but he would still be around at least. He was still a member of the team even if he couldn't play in the next round of tournaments. That's why he was shocked to realize that Momo hadn't shown up to practice at all.

Eiji could understand though. He and Momo were much more alike than anyone ever seemed to notice. Despite having naturally energetic personalities, they both knew that you couldn't be upbeat and happy all the time. Now was the moment that the second year needed to be by himself and deal with emotions and the team acrobat was more than willing to make sure he got that time. Momo would be back, no doubt about it.

It was hard, that practice. Although the physical demands- laps, racket swings, agility exercises- were the same as always, the atmosphere was too heavy. It was obvious everyone was worried and that just made Eiji more determined to raise the team's spirits.

Hang off Ochibi's back to get him irritated (the closest he would ever be to upbeat), challenge Kaidoh to an endurance contest, cautiously poke and prod at Tezuka. He even got a two for one when he nudged Fuji to slip Taka his racket. Inui, fortunately, didn't need cheering up because Eiji had never been able to figure out how to do THAT.

Things had gotten a bit better by the time they moved on to practice matches, but there was still tension present. While he and some of the others were standing behind one of the courts during one of the pauses of practice, he decided to move on to chatter. The redhead had learned at a very young age that no one could resist getting fired up when you chattered nonstop. He had also learned that he was luckily one of the people who elicited an amused reaction instead of an irritated one.

Eiji never entirely remembered what had happened during that conflict. All he knew was one second he had an angry Oishi in front of his face and the next he was on the ground. He didn't want to think it, he really didn't, but the only conclusion he could make sense of was that Oishi had pushed him. Oishi, his partner in the never-beaten Golden Pair.

And the betrayal that coursed through his body at that moment was the strongest he had ever felt. His stomach twisted in his body and there was a flame searing through his throat and behind his eyes. Eiji forgot all sense of duty, all the responsibility to stay cheerful (anger could do that to a person). The rest of practice was spent completely ignoring that stupid egg-headed worrywart.

That night Eiji's siblings noticed the difference. Most people assumed living in a big family was chaotic and annoying. Those people never realized how caring his brothers and sisters could be. By apparently unanimous consent all teasing of the youngest Kikumaru was forestalled that night. Something very unheard of. After a talk with his oldest sister, Eiji felt a tad bit better, but he figured that what he really needed was a good night's sleep to distance the incident in his mind.

Some miracle brought Momo back the next day. Eiji was ecstatic, he really was. But where there had been unadulterated fury yesterday, there was now a thick uneasiness between the Golden Pair that was consuming all his attention. It was okay to have that now, though, because now his counterpart was here to back him up. Momo could cover while he figured things out.

And they did figure things out. Oishi had immediately regretted his action and was more than ready to apologize and Eiji wasn't about to risk the best thing that had ever happened to him over one stupid mistake. At the end of practice everything was back to how it should have been all along. Momo obviously wasn't holding a grudge as he was currently occupied in a …spirited discussion with Kaidoh over in the corner (if you could call a shouting match that).

If the other team members were asked about relationships on the team, they would have told you about Momo and Kaidoh or Eiji and Oishi first, but Eiji and Momo knew that they had something special. Hyperactive people can't always be happy. And when that unavoidable fact came up, they knew they could trust each other to understand.

Everyone else was gone by the time Eiji exited the clubroom. He found his kouhai leaning against the wall right outside the door, but for the first time in two days, he wasn't really shocked. "Did you get everything straightened out?" he asked. The power player just grinned back at him. "So…want to treat me to burgers Eiji-senpai, do you?" The redhead hooked an arm around his teammate's neck. "Just this once nya."

**owari**

_A/N: Review please! Doesn't even have to be long, this story certainly isn't!_


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